Wild Finn-ish to the week for Edmonton.

The Edmonton Oilers kept busy with a few block buster trades, and a good draft to close off the week. The first major move saw the Oilers land highly touted prospect Jack Eichel, the 7th Overall selection in 2016, and a 4th round pick in 2016 in exchange for Artemi Panarin and Vladimir Tarasenko.

"It was a tough price to pay for Eichel. But we were gunning for a young #1 C, and we definitely solidified that position with Eichel"

The second trade saw Edmonton move out Sami Vatanen, a third round pick, and Ryan Hartman for Brayden Schenn. A move from a position of strength on defence, to add to a blossoming forward core. 

The Oilers then landed the 2nd overall pick and a third in 2017 from Pittsburgh in exchange for the 4th overall and Julius Honka.

A pre-determined deal was set in place in the case that Jesse Puljujarvi fell to 4th overall. This deal was Ondrej Palat and Radek Faksa for Puljujarvi. Sure enough, Puljujarvi fell to 4th at the draft and the deal was set into motion.

"We had our eyes set on drafting both finnish players for a while. They showed excellent chemistry at the WJC, and both had excellent seasons in Finland. We are ecstatic to add them to our future core."

The Oilers then drafted Patrik Laine 2nd Overall at the draft. the 6'4 205 pound Laine is a big bodied sniper. He scored 17-16-33 in 46 regular season games for Tappara in the Finnish Elite league. And continued to score 10-5-15 in 18 games while on his way to a playoff championship, and a playoff MVP award. He also had 7-6-13 in 7 games at the WJC on his way to a gold medal. To cap off his season, he won the WC MVP by scoring 7-5-12 in 10 games.

The 4th Overall selection, Jesse Puljujarvi, is now a member of the Oilers as well. Puljujarvi, similiar to Laine, is also a big bodied winger at 6'4 and 205. He is extremely well rounded at both ends of the ice, and is blessed with excellent skating. Puljujarvi also played in the Finnish Elite league, and put up 13-15-28 in 50 games, and 4-5-9 in 10 games in the playoffs. The winger also won the WJC MVP, as well as a gold medal, by putting up 5-12-17 in 7 games at the tournament.

"We feel these two are going to mke a deadly 1-2 punch on the right wing in years to come. Laine also has experience playingt he Left wing, and we feel they can even be line mates flanking Jack Eichel in the future." said Oiler GM Tanner Braithwaite

With the 7th overall selection, the Oilers drafted Clayton Keller. Keller is a little undersized at 5'10 and 165. But possesses amazing skill as shown with his 13-24-37 in 23 games with the USHL, and 107 points in 62 games with the USDP. Keller topped the season off with a solid showing at the U-18's, putting up 4-10-14 in 7 games, and at times looking absolutely dominant against the competition. Keller is committed to Boston University next season.

"Keller may need to grow a little bit, but his skill is undeniable. Boston University also has a great track record with developing NHL quality players. We also feel that every year, there tends to be a player from the USHL who goes on to have an amazing year in the NCAA. We have recently seen it with Larkin and Kyle Connor. We feel Clayton Keller will follow suit with those two, and light up the NCAA this season. He may take some time, but we can wait until he is NHL ready."

With the 31st overall selection, the Oilers drafted once again from Europe, selecting Rasmus Asplund. Asplund is a C/LW who put up 4-8-12 in 46 games with Farjestad BK of the SHL. He also put up 2-3-5 in 7 games at the WJC.

"We feel Asplund may need some time to fill out his frame, but the skill is there, and I see many similarities to last years Sebastian Aho. our Center and left wing positions are solidified for the foreseeable future, so we feel comfortable giving Asplund all the time he needs to become an NHL player."

The next pick for the Oilers came at pick 94. The Oilers selected 5'6 150 pound Matthew Phillips. who put up 76 points in 72 games with the Victoria Royals, on his way to winning rookie of the year in the WHL.

"This is a LITTLE off the board. It may be seen as a SMALL reach"

GM Braithwaite couldn't help himself from cracking a size joke.

"Phillips has all the skill in the world, and watching guys like Johnny Gaudreau crack the league and become a superstar, we believe that Phillips could do the same. He will need some time to figure the league out and hopefully fill out a bit more, but his skill level is something that can't be taught."

With the last pick at 121, the Oilers selected Defenceman Casey Fitzgerald from Boston College. Fitzgerald is an overager who had 27 points in 39 games in the NCAA. 

"Fitzgerald is coming off a fantastic freshman year at Boston College, and we feel he can polish his game to be a solid defenceman. It may take some time, but with a team with the likes of Rasmus Ristolainen, David Savard, TJ Brodie, and John Klingberg, We feel Fitzgerald has some amazing mentors to learn from."

Overall, the Oilers GM was sad to see Tarasenko, Panarin, Honka, Palat, Vatanen, Hartman and Radek Faksa go. But was excited to see Laine, Eichel, Puljujarvi, Keller, Asplund, Phillips, Schenn, and Fitzgerald join the Oilers at the draft.